Fly With Me
by Sable-Reiver
Summary: Set in the Temeraire Universe, but no knowledge of it is required;; Sora has always dreamed of having his own dragon. It may be scandalous to almost every sane person in the population of England, but he wants it anyways. Maybe a generous captain could bring him his dream... AU SoRiku. Warning: May contain coarse language.
1. Introduction

The Aerial Corps. The third military flank of every nation. While the Navy defends the sea and the Army defends the ground, the Corps patrols the skies on the backs of dragons. Some are only big enough to hold a single man and are tasked with the delivery of mail; others are bigger than fifty tonnes, fighting tooth, nail, and wing to keep their cities safe.

Unfortunately, the English Corps are regarded with suspicion and disgust by the general population. Already separated from the rest of society by the needs of and opinions towards their scaled companions (regarded as barbaric monsters by any 'proper person'), the Corps further distance themselves with their different beliefs, ways of acting, and lifestyle that, while common to them, are downright scandalous to the normal English person.

However, this also causes the members to be protective of their own, and the dragons especially won't stand for any mistreatment of their crews, or even more so, their captains. And thus, the Aerial Corps care not one bit for the opinions of the 'pretentious, close-minded ass of every-class'.

Children are still submitted for acceptance into the Aerial Cadets Recruitment Academy by relatively well-off families though. Some in hopes of getting rid of their child, others in anticipation that perhaps where their son could not succeed in the Army or Navy, they might be able to in the Corps. Unmarried women in the Corps (the most closely-guarded secret of their ranks) are expected to bear children as well, but it is in no way a requirement.

And then, of course, there are those children who choose to submit themselves. They beg and plead with their families, because the wonder of the dragons is like a drug to their young minds. All they want is more. They will even go against their parent's demands, just for one more glimpse.

* * *

Sora stared up in awe at the formation of dragons that circled overhead, dancing shadows the only things connecting them with the ground below. Only seven years old and the brunette already knew that he wanted to be up there with them, riding the wind to heights only they had seen. It had shocked his parents; after all, the Aerial Corps weren't exactly treated with the highest regard. But Sora had been determined, had refused to accept any other path. He'd more than insisted, he'd _grovelled_, spellbound by the size and beauty of the beasts that worked so hard to protect them from enemies during the war. He was convinced that the sailors and the soldiers were just jealous that they didn't get to fly so high, that they'd only ever stand with their feet firmly on the ground.

Reluctantly, his parents had enrolled him in the Academy, and he was scheduled to start next month. It was exciting. His wish was already on its way to coming true, and Sora couldn't help but dream of the day when he'd have a dragon to call his own.

-_Sable_


	2. A New Day, A New Dawn

_Ten Years Later…_

It had seemed like a normal day to any other person, but to Sora, something was different. There was a vibrancy to the air that made him anxious, excited. Something had to happen, something was _going_ to happen; he knew it. He just had absolutely no idea what it was going to be.

Even as the sun followed its course and began to dip low in the sky, even after everyone else had already gone inside to rest or eat, Sora stayed. He stayed because he'd been possessed by a queer energy that just wouldn't leave him. He'd polished every buckle of every harness, oiled all of the leather, even gone so far as to scrub some of the clearings of leftover dirt and whatnot from previous visits of other dragons. And still he felt jittery.

The brunette had just finished his third pass at organizing the materials that would be used in any repairs that needed doing, when he decided he needed to sleep. It was late, he was working by lantern light, and even if his muscles twitched from still-to-be-spent energy and he didn't feel tired at all, Sora knew he'd regret it in the morning if he didn't stop now.

Minutes later, he collapsed in bed, arm over his eyes. Nothing had happened that day.

It was a mere three hours later that had the brunette awake again, but not by his own doing; a vibration, not a major one, had resonated through his body, shaking him from a not-very-deep sleep. Sora lay there for several moments, waiting for a follow-up, or perhaps footsteps to be heard as someone else went to investigate.

Nothing.

Biting his lip, Sora swung himself from his bed, grabbed a lantern, and padded as quietly as he could to the courtyard on instinct, not really knowing what he was looking for, and certainly not expecting what he found.

A dragon. An honest-to-goodness dragon. Even in the darkness of the ungodly hours of the morning, lit only by the moon and the small circle cast by his lantern, its golden scales still glinted brilliantly, a sign of love and care. Its silhouette was huge, but nowhere near a heavy-weight. Mid-weight then, but what kind, Sora couldn't tell. He stumbled a step closer, then froze when the head lifted itself, and a great, slitted pupil peered at him.

"Oh." He breathed, voice as meek and tiny as his body next to such a great figure. He felt like he was seven all over again. The dragon blinked.

Feeling a strange kind of courage born of admiration and longing, Sora reached out a quivering hand slowly, wanting to be sure it was really there. The dragon didn't move…

But something on top of it did; a smaller figure, definitely a human. Smothering a squeak of surprise, the brunette pulled back his hand as if burned and took several steps backward, wide eyes watching the silhouette agilely descend from the creature's back, landing on the ground with the soft scuff of boot soles hitting stone.

No words were yet spoken, even as the figure moved closer, slowly stepping into the ring of light around Sora, who practically swallowed his own tongue at the sight of a man as awe-inspiring as the beasts of the brunette's dreams.

Cast in dramatic shadow, the angles and planes of his face stood boldly, bone structure sharp but still forgiving, and utterly…gorgeous. Not much else could be told unless he got closer, which might've happened if his knees hadn't suddenly lost all internal structure when the man spoke. It was a struggle just to stay standing.

"I don't suppose I could maybe get something to eat?"

The man's, _Captain's_, name was Riku Markus, and his dragon was Veritas. In the daylight, they both seemed even more dreamlike than they had beneath the moon; Riku a tall, toned, silver-haired angel with a sharp tongue, sharper grin, and eyes that seemed to possess a depth that drowned even secrets, their color reminiscent of a gemstone they had yet to find or name. Sun-kissed, wind-chapped, adventure-stricken and breathing freedom, he was what Sora wanted; in what way, he had no idea. But he _wanted_ without restraint, only the presence of the Admiral stopping him. Veritas, now seen as a golden _brown_ with yellow spots (as was the typical coloring of an Anglewing), gleamed like the sun.

"My sincerest apologies for the lack of a proper reception, Captain." Xemnas said, tone sincere even if his face didn't look it. Riku simply waved away the remark.

"No need Sir. Veritas and I didn't want to wake any of your people, given the hour, so the remainder of my crew and I agreed to simply land and sleep out here, until we could find someone in the morning. I didn't realize you had someone with such keen senses." He added, casting a glance and a smile over at Sora. There was nothing to blame his resulting flush of color on.

It was only later that Sora found out the reason for Riku's sudden drop-in; he'd been flying back from a completed mission across the Channel, when his formation had been attacked. One of the dragons, a heavy-weight, lost a lot of men, enough that he had had to sacrifice some of his own crew to help them. In the end, the rest had gone on ahead, injured more than Veritas, while they had headed to the nearest covert.

When Riku asked for a couple of spare men to aid the remainder of his crew, Xemnas had immediately agreed and gone to collect some. It was only when he had returned that Riku insisted Sora be added to the borrowed group. Xemnas smiled.

Feeling the breath being sucked from his lungs as Veritas lunged into the air, each wing beat a deafening clap against his eardrums, Sora watched the ground of his home for ten years fall away at an alarming rate. He clung tight to the carabiner's straps and with a thick swallow, turned his face to the wind. His gaze lingered on Riku's back for a moment before turning to the endless sky, wondering what waited for him, as a permanent part of Veritas' crew.

-_Sable_

_Heavy-Weight:_ _The heaviest and largest of the four classes; can grow to 50 tonnes_

_Mid-Weight:_ _Second largest of the four weight classes; the bulk of the Aerial Corps_

_Anglewing:__ A type of dragon with excellent agility and maneuvering capabilities; able to fly in tight circles, while other dragon's wings do not rotate enough to do the same_

_Covert:__ Posts where dragons and their crews are housed, fed, and trained_

_Carabiner:__ Straps provided to each of the crew; they attach to the harness the dragon wears, and ensures no one falls off_


End file.
